On episode 29, we're preparing for the holiday season by discussing the less happy side of celebrating. The holidays aren't always joyful and sometimes they even exaggerate the everyday stress. We'll share ways to survive the next few months and why it's okay to not be excited about the season.

In episode 27, Mary shared her story of the unexpected loss of the grandfather and dear friend, Joe in the same weekend. Today in episode 28, we pick up the story of loss and grief with Joe's widow, Paula. Paula takes us through the experience of losing her husband, wrestling with grief, and navigating the unknown.

On episode 27, Mary introduces us to a weekend where she lost two loved ones unexpectedly. She shares how the shock and heartache threatened to overwhelm her. We ask hard, unanswerable questions about how to put one foot in front of the other in wake of traumatic loss. This is the first of a two-art story about loss and grief.

-Theme song provided by The Easthills. "Expose Myself" can be found on their Death of a Salesman album.

On this episode, Jess and Mary wrap up the Enneagram series by discussing resources for next steps and more learning after The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. They share Enneagram books, podcasts, social media, websites, artists, conferences, and more. If you want to know more about the Enneagram and don't know where to start, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Jess and Mary continue their discussing of the Enneagram and what they have learned through the book club selection, The Road Back to You. They're diving into their individual numbers and how those numbers apply to friendships, families, careers, and romantic relationships.

On this episode of Not Terrible, Jess and Mary discuss the book club selection, The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron & Suzanne Stabile. Enneagram coach and author, Laura Dingman joins them to talk about the book, what the numbers mean, and how we can apply it to our lives.

“Living an on-the-ground, available-and-engaged, concerned-for-our-neighbors lifestyle doesn’t necessarily require moving, downsizing, changing jobs, or adopting a child. It only asks that we view our immediate world with fresh eyes to see how we might plant love with intention and grit. This means we’ll have to unlearn what we’ve wrongly absorbed about who people are and what they deserve. We’ll have to scratch through the surface and get down to the roots of the stories playing out in our midst. We will have to choose to widen our circle and allow our lives to become tangled up with those around us.” -Shannan Martin in The Ministry of Ordinary Places on sale Tuesday, October 9, 2018.

On today's episode, we’re talking with author Shannan Martin about her new book, The Ministry of Ordinary Places: Waking up to God’s Goodness Around You which releases October 9th. Shannan has a unique story about giving up on her idea of the American Dream to live in a community surrounded by brokenness and uncertainty. We’ll discuss what it means to be a good neighbor, how Shannan is choosing to find beauty in the everyday, and how she’s discovering what truly matters in life.

On this episode we're talking about Highly Sensitive Persons. Highly Sensitive Persons have a finely-tuned nervous systems that make them acutely aware of physical and emotional stimulation. Researchers estimate 20% of the population is highly sensitive. Mary and Jess share their positive and negative experiences as HSPs.

Show Notes:

-A lot of the definitions and information we share in this episode comes from Dr. Elaine Aron’s website.

-Take the test here to see how high you rank on the Highly Sensitive Person scale.

Episode two finds us talking about money again, but this time with guests Cherie and Brian Lowe. Their new book Your Money, Your Marriage comes out this week, and they have written a book helping us understand the connection between our finances and our romantic relationship. The Lowes have paid of more than $100,000 in debt and use their experiences to help others climb out of the whole and into a healthy relationship with money and our spouse.

Show Notes:

-Sorry about the background noise in this episode; this was the first time we recorded in the Front Room Studio and we were still trying to figure out what made for the best sound.

Not the end of the podcast, but the end of the season. This episode we look back over our first attempt at co-hosting a podcast together and what we learned. We share listener emails and comments and give you a glimpse of what's coming in season three.

(There's not a lot for this episode's show notes. We didn't really introduce anything new, but we're going to attempt it anyway...)

-Season One of the Not Terrible podcast had a different feel and sound. As we take a few weeks off, go back and check it out if you haven't. It's just Jess and her stories, but they're worth listening to.

-The first part of this episode was recorded as we did an Instagram Live with our followers. You hear us talk with them and respond to them for the first few minutes. We'll do this again; if you want to be a part of it, make sure you're following us on Instagram and/or signed up for our emails and we'll give you a heads up about the next one.

-If you missed the live tour of our new office and studio space, you can check out pictures here.

-We can't wait to discuss The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile with you; make sure you grab a copy from your local library or buy it here so you're ready for our book club!

-Theme song provided by The Easthills. "Expose Myself" can be found on their Death of a Salesman album.

The majority of season two was recorded in Chick's studio. He was very generous and accommodating, but we knew it wasn't a long-term solution. At the end of June, we signed a lease on an office space downtown New Palestine, the town we both grew up in and where Jess still lives. Mary lives just one town over so it was a perfect local spot for us to work out of.

July was spent cleaning, updating, and moving in, and by the first of August we were in business.

We're proud to introduce you to the Front Room Studio:

We're excited to be up and running. Is this just a space to podcast?

No way.

Front Room Studio is a place for Jess and Mary to collaborate on the podcast and other creative endeavors while also working on individual projects. Mary writes, freelances, and helps small businesses manage their social media platforms. Jess manages local artists and works on her YouTube channel. She is also beginning to expand her podcast network.

We hope to host small gatherings and workshops in the studio as well as share it with others looking for an intimate space to hold events.

-What is rolfing? Answers here. (Not to be confused with Rowlf the Dog from the Muppets!)

-Jess refers to a DO in this episode, which is a Doctor of Osteopath. What is Osteopathic Medicine? Mary doesn't know so she went here to find out.

-EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is what Jess is starting with her therapist. "Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference." Learn more here.

-"Core memories" is from the kids' movie Inside Out. If you haven't seen it yet, we are very disappointed in you.

-ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences study) quiz: Take the quiz here. That link is to the ten-question quiz and the NPR article on what it means and what it doesn't mean.

-Wayne's World, you could click on this link to know about the movie, but if this is something you actually do, we will be so bummed that you've lived in this world and never seen it. Please don't bum us out by clicking this.

Episode 8 is unscripted and unplanned. Jess has some questions she needs answered, and Mary does her best to respond. Jess and Mary come from two very different faith backgrounds, and Jess needs some clarification on following Jesus.

In episode 7, Jess and Mary discuss their childhoods and connect how they were raised to their own parenting choices today. They share weird and embarrassing memories of growing up, and what they're struggling with as parents in 2018.

In this episode of Not Terrible, Jess and Mary friendships as adults. They discuss how to make new friends, how to let go of old ones, and the struggle to have authentic friendship in the midst of a busy life.

In this episode of Not Terrible, Jess and Mary discuss addiction and how to do life in the context of this horrible disease. They explore generational effects of addiction, and how to love and support those living in the chaos it creates. If you love someone with an addiction or alcohol problem, we'd like to encourage you.

-"The diagnosis of alcohol-use disorder has been around for more than a decade, and covers a wider variety of problems than connoted by the term alcoholism, which doesn't have a precise medical definition. Alcoholism would be equivalent to an alcohol-use disorder that is 'moderate to severe,' however, and often involves compulsive drinking and an inability to stop imbibing, he says." (data via the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)

In this episode of Not Terrible, Mary shares her story of addiction in marriage. This one feels heavy and is definitely hard to listen to. Mary tells us how her marriage fell apart and how she's working on healing it. If you know someone with an addiction or alcohol problem, this one is for you.

In this episode of Not Terrible, Jess and Mary discuss therapy. From finding the courage to ask for help to the hard work that begins once you leave the therapist's couch, they share why we all probably need professional counseling at some point and why that's completely normal.

-We're sorry about the singing at the beginning; here's the Rolling Stones' song Jess was thinking about (called What a Shame), and here's the song we were actually singing (called Fame by David Bowie). Are we full of shame about this error? Probably.

-Therapy hangover is real! Jess shared hard things in counseling and then had to take a break to recover. The good news is therapy hangover can create transformation, but it's hard work too. (You can read more about it here.)

In this episode of Not Terrible, we catch up with Jess. She shares her intentions with the original season of the podcast and why she abruptly quit. We talk about why now feels like the right time to begin again and what our goals for the new format are.

-Interested in the first season of Not Terrible with Jess? Listen here.

-Jess explains Addi's diagnosis on this episode; a general introduction can be found here. (Please remember every person and diagnosis is different and before you suggest a remedy or cure or diet, know the Hookers are doing everything and more to help their daughter live her best, healthiest life.)

-Jess' birthday is June 29th. Write it down on your calendar and don't forget to wish her a happy birthday on Instagram!